Rep. Pitts: Low Obamacare Enrollment Means 'Huge Premium Increases'

Obamacare premiums could soar because administration overestimated the number of people, especially young, healthy consumers, who would enroll in the healthcare program, says Republican Rep. Joe Pitts, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.

"When [Health and Human Service] Sec. [Kathleen] Sebelius was before our subcommittee, I asked her about this number, who she said would be signing up and enrolling, and of course she said that to be successful they would have to have 7 million Americans signed up and enrolled. And I asked her what she meant by enrollment, if that meant paying the first month's premium. And she said they did not know how many have paid their first month premium," Pitts told Newsmax TV's John Bachman and J.D. Hayworth on "America's Forum" Thursday.

"So whatever statistic we get at the end of the week, if it's five million, we need to actually know how many have paid their premiums to actually enroll in a plan as to whether they're meeting their goal, but I suspect that they will say they do not know again. And if they're not getting enough people into the plans and they're not getting the right mix in the plans, it's going to lead to huge premium increases," he said.

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Pitts has served Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District, which includes Lancaster and Reading and includes much of Amish country, since 1997.

He also said that the Obama administration is not revealing how many people who have enrolled have actually just reregistered for Medicaid or how many people who have had their insurance canceled are signing up.

Last week, Sebelius downplayed concerns about rising premiums in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee.

"The increases are far less significant than what they were prior to the Affordable Care Act," she said.

Health industry officials, however, rejected Sebelius's claims, telling The Hill that under Obamacare, premiums could double or even triple in some parts of the country.

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• Rep. Pitts: Report on ACA Shows 'How False' Obama Promises Were